1929 Duesenberg J Convertible - Sold at $675,000

1929 Duesenberg J Convertible Coupe by Murphy
265bhp, 420 cu. in. four valves per cylinder twin overhead camshaft inline eight-cylinder engine, three-speed synchromesh transmission, four-wheel semi-elliptical leaf springs with front beam axle, live rear axle and vacuum-assisted four-wheel hydraulic brakes. Wheelbase: 142.5"

J132 began life as a Derham sedan, sold new to William E. Schmidt, an undertaker from Chicago. Schmidt later sold the car to Mr. H. S. Kehn, also of Chicago who in turn sold it to Paul S. Johnson, a Chicago-area plumber who removed the rear portion of the body, planning to build a truck. He never completed the conversion, however, and eventually sold the car to Keith Brown of LaPorte, Indiana in October of 1957.

The Murphy Convertible Coupe offered here - now mounted on J132 - was originally installed on J144. J144 was purchased new in 1929 by Frank Gill of New York, from the New York Factory Branch of Duesenberg. Duesenberg re-acquired the car and on April 30, 1932, the car was purchased by David Joyce of Chicago, apparently as a new car (again). Joyce was married to Peggy Hopkins-Joyce, a well-known actress and dancer at the time. It is interesting to note that he was one of just a handful of multiple new Duesenberg buyers, as he later bought J151, a Derham Tourster.

In 1937 the car was bought by Chicago dealer John Troka, who sold the car to Dr. J. Mishler of Mount Morris, Illinois. Mishler owned the car for several years. As a result of an accident, the car ended up in a Kansas City salvage yard, where in 1943 it was purchased by C.W. (Buck) Daugherty of Kansas City. Daugherty dismantled the car, selling the body to Keith Brown in 1957.

Brown mounted the J144 Murphy Convertible Coupe body on the J132 chassis and between 1957 and 1959, he restored the car to its current configuration. In September of 1959, he sold the car to Homer Fitterling, in whose collection the car remained until his entire collection was purchased by carpet king Ed Weaver of Dalton, Georgia in 1989. Weaver owned the car until his death in 1994, when it was acquired by RM Classic Cars of Chatham, Ontario, Canada. RM sold the car to Berkeley, Massachusetts collector Jim King, who kept the car for several years before trading it back to RM on another car. The vendor acquired the car from RM in 2006.

Specs & Details:

Auction Date: 02 Aug 2008
Sold For: $675,000
# Bids: 11
Engine: 8
Transmission: manual
Exterior Color: white
Interior Color: black